diatory 


aoom 


Cfie  ILffitarg 

of  lift 

Ditit0ton  of  ^ealtl)  affatr0 
([Inittetsitp  of  n^ottt)  Carolina 


K^«f, 


^^vr  ftooiff 


fWl.  ^^. 


m.m. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arclnive 

in  2009  witln  funding  from 

Nortln  Carolina  History  of  Health  Digital  Collection,  an  LSTA-funded  NC  ECHO  digitization  grant  project 


http://www.archive.org/details/addressbeforemedOOstru 


AN  ADDRESS 


BEFORE 


THE  MEDICAL  SOCIETY  OF  THE  STATE 


OP 


NORTH    CAROL.IXA, 


AT 


ITS   FIRST   ANNUAL  COMMUNICATION. 


IN  RALEIGH,  APRIL,   1850. 


By   EDMUND  STRUDWICK,  M.  D. 


RALEIGH: 

WILLIAM    W.    HOLDENj    PRINTER. 

1850. 


ADDRESS. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Medical  Society: 

I  feel  a  deep  and  proud  gratification  in  seeing  here  so  large 
and  respectable  an  assemblage  of  Physicians.  It  is  a  favorable 
augury  for  our  infant  project.  It  is  a  bright  and  honorable  omeu 
of  future  success.     I  bid  you  welcome. 

The  flight  of  another  year  brings  us  together  as  an  organized 
State  Medical  Society.  Permit  me  to  congratulate  you  on  its 
first  Annual  Meeting,  and  to  express  the  hope  that  we  have  met 
together  with  a  united  and  honest  determination  to  accomplish 
the  purposes  for  which  it  was  instituted;  that  we  may  bring  to 
this  work  an  energy  commensurate  with  its  importance — an  ar- 
dor no  circumstances,  however  discouraging,  shall  abate — a 
zeal  that  sliall  never  falter,  until  we  shall  have  reached  the  de- 
sired goal  liCt  the  fact  that  the  medical  reputation  of  North 
Carolina  must  be  elevated  by  the  success  or  suifer  reproach  by 
the  failure  of  our  undertaking,  animate  us  with  a  sense  of  pro- 
fessional pride,  which  shall  overcome  every  obstacle,  conduct 
our  Society  to  usefulness  and  dignity,  and  make  it  an  honorable 
co-worker  with  the  National  Association,  now  actively  engaged 
in  asserting  the  rights  of  the  medical  profession  and  its  high 
claims  to  public  respect  and  confidence. 

When  a  movement  so  general  in  the  profession  had  been  made 
— when  the  fathers  and  teachers  of  medicine,  with  its  able,  en- 
terprising and  successful  practitioners,  from  almost  every  point 
of  our  widely  extended  country,  had  banded  themselves  together 
to  testify  their  devotion  to  the  honor  and  advancement  of  medi- 
cal Science,  it  was  full  time  for  us  to  wheel  into  the  ranks  of 
medical  reform.  To  have  lingered  longer  would  have  tarnish- 
ed  our  escutcheon,  and  have  justly  exposed  us  to  reproach. 
Havmg  grasped  the  plough,  let  us  never  look  back  ;  let  our 
watchword  be  '^oiitvard,^^  and  by  faithful  and  persevering  ef- 
fort prove  ourselves  equal  io  the  enlerprize.  and  worthy  of  the 


noble  cause  in  which  we  have  embarked.  Let  us  bear  constantly 
in  mind  the  truth  that  our  success  must  be  the  work  of  time,  the 
result  of  long-continued  and  laborious  effort.  Let  us  then  not 
be  discouraged,  but  importunately  invoke  the  co-operation  and 
union  of  the  medical  talent  of  North  Carolina;  and  if  we  can 
call  it  into  exercise  and  bring  it  to  bear  on  this  subject  with  its 
full  force  and  influence,  a  proud,  and  commanding  success 
awaits  us. 

Permit  me  now  to  make  a  few  plain  suggestions — to  clear 
away  some  rubbish  that  mars  and  encumbers  our  profession — to 
clean  off  a  place  for  the  foundation  of  medical  reform ;  the  task 
of  erecting  the  edifice  I  resign  to  other  and  to  abler  hands.  The 
idea  that  two  of  a  trade  cannot  agree  is  a  proverbial  truth,  which, 
I  blush  to  say,  is  lamentably  and  too  frequently  illustrated  in 
onr  profession.  So  far  as  we  are  concerned  let  us  strike  it  from 
the  vocabulary  of  proverbs.  Who  has  not  known  the  best  ex- 
ertions of  medical  skill  to  terminate  in  failure,  and  the  want  of 
success  attributed  by  a  cotemporary  to  a  misapprehension  of  the 
disease  and  to  its  improper  treatment  ?  When  success  rewards 
assiduity  and  skill  it  is  sometimes  attributed  to  a  mere  accident,  or 
perhaps  to  some  wise  and  potent  suggestion  made  by  the  jealous 
detractor,  or  as  resulting  in  spite  of  the  treatment.  Akin  to  this 
conduct  of  injustice  and  disparagement,  is  a  spirit  of  boastful 
superiority  which  has  no  failures  to  record,  but  tells  of  danger- 
ous and  a2:gravated  cases  innumerable,  which  yielded,  as  if  by 
magic,  to  the  rebukes  of  this  wonder-working  medical  prowess. 
Honesty  is  the  ornament  of  every  vocation,  and  it  is  peculiarly 
the  best  policy  as  well  as  the  highest  privilege  of  the  Physician ; 
and  he  who  departs  from  its  old-fashioned  but  honored  maxims, 
is  sure  to  meet  with  dishonor  and  disappointment.  He  who  ex- 
pects to  gain  business  or  to  acquire  reputation  by  trusting  to  the 
meretricious  tones  of  his  own  trumpet,  occupies  only  a  base  and 
fancied  vantao^e  ground,  and  will  sooner  or  later  receive  what  he 
justly  merits,  the  disgust  of  the  community  and  the  contempt 
of  his  fellows.  Exhibitionsof  disreputable  medical  character,  I 
would  fondly  hope,  are  not  of  frequent  occurrence;  and  I  only 
mention  them  that  we  may  place  upon  them  the  mark  of  disap- 
probation. 

Whenever  symptoms  of  degeneration  appear,  threatening  the 
vitality  and  purity  of  professional  character,  let  us  here,  in  a  gen- 


eral  consuUiitionj  determine  upon  a  bold  and  efficacious  remedy 
— eradicate  the  moral  seirrhus  by  the  fearless  application  of  the 
actual  cautery ;  lesser  lesions  or  delinquencies  let  us  correct  by 
the  milder  measures  of  kindness  and  remonstrance;  and  if  it 
becomes  necessary  to  administer  reproof,  let  the  object  be  the  re- 
formation of  a  friend  and  cotemporary,  not  the  injury  of  a  com- 
petitor. Let  us,  in  a  word,  put  on  the  mantle  of  a  just,  honor- 
able, and  courteous  brotherhood,  and  wear  it  like  men  faithfully 
discharging  every  duty  it  enjoins.  Let  the  badge  of  medical 
profession,  when  rightfully  worn,  inspire  us  with  mutual  respect, 
command  our  kindest  offices,  ensure  our  best  wishes,  and  estab- 
lish among  us  a  spirit  of  reciprocal  confidence  and  friendship. 
He  who  pursues  the  profession  not  simply  for  its  proper  emolu- 
ments, but  with  a  just  appreciation  of  the  claims  of  humanity, 
and  for  the  glorious  privilege  of  doing  good,  must  form  close 
and  intimate  friendships  with  its  practitioners.  And  this  is  its 
fair  and  legitimate  tendency.  And  when  this  state  of  things 
does  not  result  from  long  association,  it  shows  that  improper  in- 
fluences, and  jealousies,  and  ignoble  rivalries  have  been  at  work, 
which  must  be  banished  from  our  ranks.  We  recognize  the 
principle  of  fellowship  and  communion  as  peculiarly  appropri- 
ate to  those  who  endure  the  toils,  encounter  the  privations,  incur 
the  dangers,  and  share  in  the  triumphs,  disappointments  and 
joys  incident  to  the  prcictice  of  a  common  and  noble  profession. 
This  is  not  only  honorable  to  the  profession,  but  is  as  indispen- 
sable to  the  advancement  of  medical  science,  as  the  spirit  of  emu- 
lation and  the  habit  of  application  to  study,  and  of  close  and 
correct  observation.  It  is  also  necessary  to  a  faithful  record  of 
medical  experience  to  guide  and  instruct  us.  Even  an  author  or 
a  teacher,  of  fame  and  established  reputation,  reluctantly  publish- 
es mistakes  by  which  he  has  sacrificed  human  life.  Can  it  then 
be  expected  that  a  physician  will  impart  knowledge  of  his  own 
fatal  errors  in  the  practice,  unless  with  a  full  confidence  which 
an  assured  friendship  and  integrity  can  alone  inspire — that  it 
will  be  treasured  and  remembered  only  to  protect  others  from  a 
similar  catastrophe?  To  cement  this  tie  of  mutual  confidence,  is 
demanded  by  considerations  of  self-respect  as  well  as  by  obliga- 
tions of  duty  to  the  public.  A  free  interchange  of  personal  ex- 
perience, an  unreserved  expression  of  medical  opinion — now  at- 
tacked, now  defended — for  reasons  frankly  avowed,  not  only  pro- 


motes  tiie  pleasures  of  social  intercourse,  but  results  in  the  exten- 
sion of  medical  knowledge,  the  establishment  of  truth,  and  the 
refutation  of  error. 

In  this  connection,  I  may  be  allowed  to  refer  to  instances  of 
heroism,  manifested  by  the  profession,  amidst  the  horrors  and 
dangers  of  the  pestilence,  which  recently  spread  death  and  deso- 
lation over  many  portions  of  our  land.     I  allude,  of  course,  to 
the  Cholera.     The  Physician  in  this  hour  of  dismay,  when  the 
public  mind  quailed  with  fear,  maintained  the  post  of  honor  and 
duty — he  met  the  pestilence  which  walked  in  darkness  and 
braved  the  destruction  "which  wasteth  at  noonday";  inspired, 
not  like  the  soldier  on  the  battle-field,  by  the  strains  of  martial 
music,  by  his  leaders  example  and  word  of  command  ;  but  ani- 
mated by  a  disinterested  sense  of  duty,  with  a  confiding  trust 
in  the  protection  of  Providence,  he  promptly  obeyed  the  call  of 
'  distress,  and  with  noiseless  tread,  as  well  in  the  hovels  of  the 
i  poor  and  the  crowded  hospitals,  as  in  the  chamber  of  the  opu- 
lent, fearlessly  exposed  himself  to  the  thick  and  unseen  shafts 
of  the  pestilence,  to  rescue  his  fellow-man  from  its  remorseless 
grasp;  and  in  the  unequal  conflict  not  unfrequently  fell  a  vic- 
tim to  his  noble  exertions  in  the  cause  of  suffering-  humanity. 
Recollections  like  these  fill  the  medical  heart  with  pride  and 
sorrow.    This  dauntless  devotion  to  duty  challenges  the  admira- 
tion of  mankind,  and  entitles  the  Physician  to  a  greener  laurel 
than  ever  decked  the  warrior's  brow.     Let  us  then  be  stimulated 
by  these  proud  examples  to  be  just  to  ourselves,  and  true  to  the 
public  ;  let  us  cherish  a  generous  rivalry  to  make  full  and  ample 
preparation  for  the  discharge  of  the  various  duties  we  owe  to 
the  communities  in  which  we  may  reside — for  a  summary  of 
which  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  our  excellent  Code  of  Ethics. 
But  while  we  are  ever  mindful  of  the  obligations  of  kindness, 
patience,  and  a  strict  integrity  to  the  public  ;  while  we  are  ac- 
tuated by  an  honest  desire  to  promote  their  health  and  welfare, 
self-respect  requires  us  to  say  that  we  suffer  much  wrong  at  their 
hands.     It  is  not  to  be  disguised  that  men,  occupying  the  high 
places  of  the  land,  ornaments  to  society,  and  even  Physicians, 
lend  themselves  to  the  vile  imposture  of  empiricism  and  quack- 
cry.     Man,  with  all  his  acquirements,  civilization  and  religion, 
is  a  credulous  being;  and  this  credulity  is  exhibited  in  a  remark- 
able manner  ui  his  use  of   secret  remedies  of  €ven  the  most 


ridiculous  pretensions.  It  is  not  surprising:  tli^'^t  ignorant  persons 
should  be  duped  and  deceived  by  nostrums,  freighted  with  re- 
commendations which  assert  a  power  to  cure  every  ill  flesh  is 
heir  to,  and  attempted  to  be  sustained  by  certificates  as  ingenious 
as  false;  but  it  is  surprising,  and  justly  merits  indignation,  that 
men  of  sense  and  character  should  patronize  the  authors  of  this 
system  of  fraud — these  sordid  hucksters,  who  violate  every  prin- 
ciple of  humanity — these  mountebanks,  who  have  stolen  the 
garb  of  medicine  in  which  to  practice  their  diabolical  arts — ^jug- 
glers in  medicine,  who,  in  defiance  of  decency,  with  a  miser's 
unscrupulous  lust  after  gain,  under  the  disguise  of  falsehood 
and  secrecy,  deal  in  public  credulity  and  trafiic  in  human  life. 
These  charlatans  are  our  acknowledged  and  sometimes  preferred 
competitors,  who  attain  not  unfrequently  to  boundless  wealthy 
while  the  upright  and  well-informed  Ph^^sician  languishes  in 
poverty  and  obscurity. 

It  is  the  pride  and  privilege  of  the  medical  profession  to  ren- 
der gratuitous  services  to  the  Clergy  and  their  families ;  yet  this 
influential,  honored  and  holy  class,  whose  mission  it  is  to  inves- 
tigate, cherish,  and  dispense  a  truth  more  glorious  than  that  eman- 
ating from  the  lamp  of  science,  are  often  so  far  forgetful  of  the  dig- 
nity of  their  station,  and  of  their  obligations  to  society,  as  to  sanc- 
tion by  their  approval,  and  encourage  by  their  patronage,  men  who 
discard  the  patient  pursuit  of  a  profession  and  embark  in  a  trafiic 
of  deception,  for  the  sole  and  sordid  purpose  of  money-making, 
as  must  be  obvious,  upon  mature  reflection,  to  every  candid  and 
intelligent  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  The  press  and  the  legislation 
of  the  country  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  quackery,  and 
invest  it  with  a  false  consequence.  To  grant  patents  for  secret 
remedies  is  a  palpable  prostitution  of  the  powers  of  legislation. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  public  to  appreciate  and  patronize  medical 
talent  and  worth,  wherever  found ;  and  when  the  profession 
shall  clearly  present  these  qualifications,  and  manifest  their  own 
appreciation  of  moral  worth  and  ability,  we  may  then  expect 
public  confidence  and  respect,  and  not  till  then.  We  must  not 
tolerate  those  who  are  so  unmindful  of  the  distinction  the  medi- 
cal badge  confers,  as  to  sully  it  by  unprofessional  conduct ;  nor 
must  we  countenance  secret  compounds  of  high-sounding  claims, 
though  they  come  to  us  endorsed  by  the  dignitaries  of  the  land, 
and  recommended  as  possessing  powers  to  establish  the  bloom 


ot*  health  upon  the  ravages  of  every  form  of  disease.  There  are 
articles  of  acknowledged  efficacy,  prepared  by  apothecaries  and 
others,  whose  ingredients  are  known  ;  they  are  useful  and  con- 
venient to  the  profession,  and  form  exceptions  to  this  just  pro- 
scription of  rank  and  ridiculous  impostures.  The  American 
Medical  Association  has  established  a  Board  to  analyze  quack 
remedies  and  nostrums,  now  palmed  upon  the  public,  and  publish 
the  result  of  their  examinations,  with  comments  upon  the  na- 
ture and  dangerous  tendency  of  such  remedies.  Every  Physi- 
cian must  have  been  called  on  to  rescue  cases  of  disease  from 
the  aggravation  and  sometimes  dangerous  modifications  pro- 
duced by  their  use.  If  the  Board  shall  succeed  in  its  Herculean 
task,  and  deprive  these  nostrums,  now  fillins^  and  pillaging  the 
land  like  swarms  of  locusts,  of  their  chief  charm  and  power — 
secrecy — it  will  have  conferred  a  benefit  upon  society,  as  well  as 
the  medical  profession,  and  the  public  will  be  amazed  at  the  ex- 
tent to  which  they  have  been  humbugged.  The  medical  pro- 
fession have  been  contending  for  years  with  a  species  of  impo- 
sition at  once  inhuman  and  piratical — the  adulteration  of  drugs 
and  medicines  by  unprincipled  manufacturers,  who  have  flooded 
our  country  with  spurious  and  inert  articles,  thus  blunting  the 
very  weapons  with  which  we  encounter  disease,  disappoint- 
ing the  just  expectations  of  the  Physician,  and  blighting  the  dear, 
est  hopes  of  his  patient.  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that  this 
disgraceful  trafiic  has  been  checked,  if  not  entirely  broken  up. 
Dr.  Edwards,  for  his  able  and  patriotic  agency  in  procuring  the 
proper  legislation  on  this  subject,  and  Dr.  Bailey,  for  his  effi- 
ciency and  independence  in  giving  practical  effect  to  that  legisla- 
tion, deserve  from  the  country  and  profession  lasting  honor  and 
gratitude.  There  is,  however,  to  some  extent,  a  home  adultera- 
ation,  and  it  is  dilTicult  to  reach  the  perpetrators  of  this'fraud  by 
law,  but  the  vigilance  of  the  profession  will  deter  them  from  pro- 
secuting this  disgraceful  scheme.  They  will  find  it  as  ruinous 
to  their  interest  as  it  is  destructive  to  their  character.  And  the 
dealer  in  drugs  who  may  be  detected  in  this  infamous  proceed- 
ing, will  be  published  and  branded  as  an  impostor;  and  thus 
disappointed  in  his  speculation  and  deprived  of  the  power  to 
deceive  and  injure,  he  will  abandon  his  inhuman  vocation. 
And  while  the  national  legislature  has  properly  consigned  adult- 
erated drugs  to  destruction,  ouffht  not  North  Carolina  to  forbid. 


by  a  legislative  act,  the  sale  of  secret  compounds  within  her 
limits,  and  to  require  the  authors  of  the  whole  tribe  of  nostrums, 
under  proper  penalties,  to  liave  the  name  and  proportions  of  the 
articles  of  which  they  are  composed,  to  be  written  out  on  the 
label  in  plain,  vernacular  English?     While  the  Physician,  who 
exposes  the  name  and  nature  of  his  remedial  agents  to  public 
view — who  unsheaths   and  exhibits  his  weapons — cheerfully 
pays  a  tax  for  the  privilege  of  practising  his  profession — shall 
the  stealing  trickster,  who  envelopes  his  nostrums  in  profound 
secrecy,  be  permitted  to  pursue  unheeded  his  course  of  craft  and 
treachery;  and  the  Legislature,  by  its  silence,  confer  upon  him 
immunities  denied  to  the  regular  practitioner?    Judicious  regu- 
lations exist  on  this  subject  in  some  of  the  States  of  the  Union. 
-  Permit  me  to  allude  to  a  few  of  the  extravas^ant  appendages 
of  the  medical  profession — Homoepathy  and  Hydropathy — sys- 
tems containing  some  truth,  though  largely  diluted  with  error. 
The  inappreciable  doses  of  Homoepathy  is  a  pretty  apt  illustra- 
tion of  the  expectant  plan  of  treating  disease,  and  operate  like 
doses  of  confidence,  which  are  often  of  signal  advantage.  Who 
would  at  this  day  renounce  cold  water  as  a  Therupeutic  agent? 
Yet  how  vain  the  attempt  to  invest  it  with  the  virtues  of  a  pana- 
cea— vainer  still  the  attempt  to  dignify  Hydropathy  with  the 
appellation  of  science  !   Heat  and  Steam  are  also  valuable  agents, 
but  admit  not  of  that  universal  application  in  the  practice  af 
medicine,  which  is  claimed  for  them  by  the  misguided  and  fa- 
natical Thompsonian. 

I  turn  now,  with  pleasure,  to  the  consideration  of  a  more 
pleasing  and  useful  subject.  One  of  the  highest  objects  of  our 
Society  is  to  ascertain  the  true  nature  and  treatment  of  disease, 
as  it  occurs  among  us.  However  highly  we  may  estimate  the 
observation  and  experience  of  Physicians  in  foreign  countries— 
however  much  we  may  prize  the  learning,  research,  and  varied 
information  which  comes  to  us  from  native  Physicians,  whose 
talents,  ability,  and  integrity  adorn  our  profession — and,  how- 
ever useful  and  indispensable  all  this  knowledge  may  be,  yet 
there  is  a  local  knowledge  of  disease  which  every  Physician 
must  acquire  for  himself — a  modification  of  disease,  which  ac- 
curate observation  at  the  bedside  alone  can  teach  him.  Habits 
of  life — age — condition  in  society — sex — peculiarity  of  consti- 
tutiou — seasons — epidemic  influences — and  particularly  climate^ 


10 

are  some  of  the  circumstances  which  produce  such  modifica- 
tions, as  to  occasion  in  works  of  the  highest  authority,  in  regard 
to  symptoms  and  treatment,  a  discrepancy  of  opinion,  a  dissimi- 
larity of  views,  constituting  a  fruitful  source  of  confusion  and 
medical  skepticism.     That  we  may  have  clear  and  satisfactory 
views  of  the  correct  treatment  of  diseases,  peculiar  to  the  diver- 
sified climate  in  which  we  live,  we  must  learn  then-  true  char- 
acter hy  our  own  observation  as  well  as  by  the  teachings  of  the 
books.     This  study  and  observation  of  disease,  with  every  at- 
tending and  modifying  circumstance,  as  well  in  relation  to  its 
theory  as  its  practice,  should  be  embodied  and  reported  to  this 
Society;  that  we  may  thus  establish  a  standard  of  ripeped  opin- 
ion and  experience  for  our  guidance  and  instruction  in  the  treat- 
ment of  disease,  as  it  occurs  in  our  several  locations.     To  pro- 
mote  this  object,  let  every  Physician  keep  a  note-book,  and  reg. 
[ister  his  cases.     This  is  a  drudgery,  but  nevertheless  a  duty, 
and  every  Physician  ought  to  perform  it.     He  will  then  be  fur- 
nished with  important  and  practical  information.     Patient  and 
correct  observation,   though  humble  and  unpretending  in  its 
character — though  deficient  in  the  power  to  charm  like  the  dis- 
covery of  a  new  theory,  which  inventive  genius  weaves  into  a 
plausible  and  beautiful  web— will  stand  out  as  a  beacon  light  to 
direct  the  practitioner  safely  in  his  course,  whilst  the  most  inge- 
nious speculations  are  forgotten,  or  only  remembeted  as  brilliant 
fancies.     Extending  the  plan  of  forming  an  accurate  acquam- 
tance  with  the  diseases  of  the  South,  Dr.  Fenner,  of  INew  Or- 
leans, proposes  to  publish  an  Annual  Volume,  devoted  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  Medical  Knowledge  in  the  Southern  States.     If 
the  plan  of  the  "Southern  Medical  Reports"  shall  be  fully  car- 
ried  out  and  properly  patronized,  it  will  collect  and  present  in  a 
durable  form  the  experience  and  observations  of  the  Physicians 
of  the  South,  and  will  exert  a  more  decided  and  salutary  influ- 
ence in  promoting  medical  education  and  forming  the  medical 
history  of  our  own  region  than  the  Establishment  of  a  Medical 
College. 

The  accounts  of  the  Meteorology,  Medical  Topography,  and 
prevailing  diseases  of  the  year,  with  reports  of  important  cases 
from  all  parts  of  the  Southern  country— an  annual  expression 
of  medical  opinion  upon  the  diseases  of  the  South,  with  an  ex- 
position of  their  true  character  and  proper  treatment,  can  but 


11 

prove  hio^hly  interesting  and  instructive  to  the  profession.  The 
plan  and  objects  of  this  work  commend  it  to  the  patronage  and 
support  especially  of  every  Southern  Physi^-:ian.  And  as  the 
accomplished  Editor  is  a  native  son  of  Nonh  Carolina,  will  we 
not  feel  a  just  pride  and  si.:cere  pleasure  m  extending  to  him 
every  encouragement,  and  in  putting  forth  our  best  exertions  to 
promote  the  success  of  his  noble  enterprise? 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  I  shall  review  and  discuss  the 
various  recommendations  of  ihe  American  Medical  x\ssociation. 
They  are  all  entitled  to  our  highest  consideration  ;  and  we 
should  manifest  our  admiration  of  them  by  rendering  a  cheer- 
ful obedience  to  their  important  requirements. 

The  transactions  of  the  Association  present  much  useful  and 
valuable  information.  It  is  a  volume  of  which  every  xAmerican 
Physician  must  feel  proud.  It  is  a  rich  contribution  to  medical 
science,  and  exhibits  in  pleasing  relief  the  progress  and  digni- 
ty of  our  profession. 

I  sh:dl  purposely  abstain  from  making  many  specific  recom= 
mendations.  I  leave  their  adoption,  as  well  as  the  cirrangement 
of  the  order  and  nature  of  our  duties,  to  the  wisdom  and  pleas- 
ure of  the  Society.  Permit  me,  however,  to  call  your  attention 
to  a  few  particulars  in  which  we  must  all  feel  a  deep  interest. 
It  is  the  very  foundation  stone  for  improving  medical  character, 
and  imparting  hig:her  respectability  and  more  extended  useful- 
ness to  the  profession,  that  we  should  require  of  those  who  enter 
our  offices  to  study  medicine,  to  furnish  evidence  of  a  sufficient 
geneial  education  and  of  good  moral  character.  From  a  strict 
observance  of  this  rule,  with  an  honest  determination  on  the 
part  of  the  practitioner  to  impart  the  fullest  office  iiistruction  to 
his  students,  and  to  impress  upon  ihrm  the  n.ojal  dignity  of  the 
mission  to  heal  the  sick — that  it  requires,  not  only  that  the  head 
should  be  clear,  but  that  the  heart  should  be  right — the  standard 
of  medical  education  v/ill  be  elevated,  and  inestimable  advanta- 
ges will  accrue  to  the  profession.  Additional  efficacy  will  be 
imparted  to  this  rule  by  lengthening  the  peiiod  for  the  delivery 
of  the  lectures  in  all  our  Medical  Colleges,  thereby  affording  time 
for  study  and  profitable  attendance  on  well-conducted  institu- 
tions  for  the  reception  and  treatment  of  the  sick.  It  is  necessary 
to  the  success  of  the  plan,  that  there  should  be  a  union  and  co- 
operation  of  all  the  M^^lical  Colleges  of  the  country.    There 


12 

is  too  iiiuch  matter  crowded  upon  the  medical  classes  in  a  term- 
much  too  short  to  study,  digest,  and  retain  the  knowledge  and 
facts  which  are  taught  with  signal  ability.  If  the  present  ar- 
rangement for  public  medical  instruction  is  objectionable — if  it 
be  true — and  candor  compels  me  to  admit  that  it  is  to  a  great 
extent — that  the  Doctorate  is  too  cheap  and  of  too  easy  attain- 
ment— the  fault  is  not  alone  chargeable  to  the  Colleges,  but  is 
also  found  to  lie  at  the  door  of  the  practitioner,  who  receiv^es, 
without  proper  discrimination,  the  Student  into  his  office,  and 
fails  in  his  duty  to  prepare  him  for  attendance  upon  the  lectures. 

The  American  Medical  Association  recommend,  as  the  only 
practicable  check  on  the  too  general  right  to  practice,  conferred 
by  the  diploma,  that  each  Legislature  shall  establish  an  Examin- 
ing Board  of  disinterested  Physicians,  whose  certificate  shall 
confer  the  privilege  of  entering  upon  the  practice,  regardless,  of 
the  diploma. 

This  plan  Avould  work  no  injury  to  the  worthy  and  well 
qualified  graduate,  but  would  exclude  the  deficient.  This  sys- 
tem is  in  operation  in  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  has  been  emi- 
nently successful  in  establishing  a  high  order  of  professional 
acquirement  in  their  Surgeons  and  Physicians ;  and  wherever 
introduced  it  has  produced  the  same  gratifying  results.  There 
is  a  strong  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  profession  in  favor  of 
its  adoption  in  this  counti}^  Whether  we  shall  ask  any  action 
from  the  Legislature  on  this  subject,  I  leave  to  you  to  determine. 

The  popular  and  indigenous  remedies  of  the  State  merit  the 
care  and  attention  of  the  Society. 

I  recommend  that  the  Legislature  be  memorialized  by  a  com- 
mittee of  your  appointment,  to  pass  a  law  which  shall  compel 
the  registration  of  the  marriages,  births,  and  deaths.  This  law, 
once  in  operation,  would  furnish  a  fund  of  statistical  informa- 
tion, important  in  a  civil  and  political  point  of  view,  and  useful 
to  the  legal  as  well  as  the  medical  profession.  It  is  a  reproach 
to  any  State  to  be  without  registration  laws,  which  lead  ulti- 
mately to  the  adoption  of  sanitary  measures,  now  claiming  an 
interest  and  attention,  which  the  preservation  of  public  health 
and  the  prolongation  of  human  life  must  sooner  or  later  com- 
mand. There  is  a  means  of  improvement  which  the  Legisla- 
ture ought  by  law  to  confer  upon  the  Physicians  of  the  State — 
the  right  to  dissect  the  bodies  of  executed  criminals,  and  those 


I'' 


o 


who  die  in  iiistitulions  of  public  charity.  Unless  friends  or  re- 
lations claim  the  bodies  for  burial,  they  should  be  delivered  uj\ 
oil  demand,  to  any  Physician,  for  the  purposes  of  dissection, 
preparation,  or  experiment. 

Allied  to  this  subject,  and  one  of  vital  import  to  the  medical 
profession  and  to  the  public,  is  the  privilege  of  making  post 
mortem  examinations  of  the  bodies  of  our  patients.  This  pro. 
ceeding  the  public  invests  with  a  species  of  horror.  Friends 
regard  it  as  a  heartless  liberty  with  the  remains  of  the  honored 
dead — as  a  violation  of  the  sacred  immunities  of  sorrow — as  an 
invasion  of  the  rights  of  affection.  These  impressions  are  natur- 
al— they  command  our  sympathy  and  respect,  but  they  spring 
from  bosoms  wruna-with  an  aguish,  not  from  the  convictions  of  a 
calm  and  undisturbed  reason.  There  is  a  false  delicacy  on  this 
subject,  which  we  should  seek  to  correct,  by  kind  remonstrance 
and  conciliatory  appeals.  We  should  familiarize  the  public 
mind  Avith  the  necessity  and  importance  of  such  inspections;  we 
must  impress  upon  it  the  truth  that  they  involve  no  indignity 
to  the  dead — no  disrespect,  but  a  high  and  positive  duty  to  the 
living.  The  public  do  not  realize  the  fact,  that,  without  these 
opportunities,  the  science  of  medicine  would  now  be  slumber- 
ing in  its  infancy  ;  nor  do  they  reflect  that  these  investigations 
increase  our  knowlec)o;e  of  disease  and  qualify  us  for  its  more 
enlightened  and  successful  treatment.  These  things  are  palpa- 
ble to  us,  and  we  ought  to  persevere  in  our  efforts  to  render  this 
source  of  improvement  accessible  to  the  profession. 

I  would  call,  especiall}^  upon  the  younger  members  of  the 
profession,  to  come  up  to  the  work  of  reform  and  advancement. 
Upon  them  chiefly  rests  our  hopes.  Ti.ey  have  the  time — the 
advantages  of  the  recent  improvements  and  discoveries  in  the 
science  of  medicine.  Whatever  of  aid  those  of  us  who  have 
grown  grey  and  dim  of  vision  can  render,  will  be  cheerfully 
contributed.  While  we  will  endeavor  to* shed  the  light,  beam- 
ing from  the  lamp  of  experience,  upon  the  path  of  medicine,  the 
young  and  rising  must  illuminate  that  path  with  the  Drum- 
mond-light  of  learning. 

I  now  bespeak  your  kind  indulgence  for  the  many  imperfec- 
tions of  this  hasty  sketch.  My  apology  must  be,  frequent  in- 
terruptions, and  especially  my  utter  disuse  and  want  of  taste  in 
the  arts  of  composition.     Accept  my  sincere  acknowledgement^^ 


14 

for  the  honor  you  have  conferred  upon  me  of  presiding  over  the 
deliberations  of  the  first  Medical  Society  of  my  native  State. 
I  will  cherish  it  as  one  of  the  proudest  recollections  of  my  life. 
Here,  on  thisinterestinof  occasion,  let  us  pledge  ourselves  to  each 
other  upon  the  altar  of  immutable  brotherhood,  to  accomplish 
whatever  our  hearts  and  hands  find  to  do — to  adorn  and  unite 
the  medical  profession — to  promote  its  true  glory — to  brighten 
the  pasfeof  its  history — to  record  its  triumphs,  and  to  contribute 
to  the  fulfilment  of  its  high  and  holy  mission  to  mankind. 


